Couple Arrested, Children Remain Alone

Defense Minister Sha’ul Mofaz has issued a military restraining order against a couple from the slated-for-destruction community of Sa-Nur – leaving the family’s children alone in their house.

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Hillel Fendel, 10/08/05 08:11 | updated: 10:00

It occurred in the late hours of Tuesday night. Policemen attempted to serve Miriam and Yaron Adler with papers forbidding them from entering their home in Sa-Nur, in the northern Shomron. The couple, which was staying at Miriam's parents’ home in N’vei Daniel in Gush Etzion, refused to accept the papers. The policemen then brutally arrested them, and the couple’s six children - aged 1 to 9 - were left alone in their home in Sa-Nur.

The police originally claimed that the couple had attacked the police. Arutz-7's call to the Shai (Samaria/Judea) Police District produced no further comments.

The Adler family was one of the first to arrive in Sa-Nur following its abandonment by most of its permanent residents some three years ago. The Adlers have been very active in bringing new families to live in the community.

The military orders state that Miriam and Yaron Adler must return to their home in Kiryat Arba – where they have not lived for three years.

Miriam’s sister, Michal, was witness to the brutal arrest. She said afterwards that plainclothes policemen burst into her parents’ home at 11:45 PM, without presenting any warrant. Her parents, who were Prisoners of Zion in the former Soviet Union for ten years, attempted to find out what the policemen wanted. Michal said that the policemen merely pushed them aside and made their way to the second floor. Only after a while did they present the family with the warrant they had in their possession.

Yaron, Miriam’s husband, refused to sign the order, and the couple was arrested.

At one point during the police raid, the commander of the force banged Miriam’s head against the floor, dragging her out bare-headed and barefoot.

The Adlers had planned to return home to their children in Sa-Nur after visiting Miriam’s parents, but the policemen refused to allow them to do so. Nor did the police or other authorities send a welfare worker to look after the abandoned children.

As of this morning (Wednesday), the Adler couple remains in prison. Yaron, who continues to refuse to sign the Defense Minister’s orders, says he is a legally registered citizen of Sa-Nur, and therefore need not agree to be prevented from returning to his home.

A friend of the Adlers in Sa-Nur said this morning, “This is apparently the ‘sensitivity and determination’ that the Prime Minister asked the police to show during the course of the disengagement.”

Arutz-7 spoke with Yossi, general secretary of Sa-Nur, and asked if he had been in contact with the police. "Why should I be?" he responded. "The commander came in, smashed Miriam's head against the floor and slapped both her parents. The only contact we need to have is via a complaint filed with the Department for Complaints Against Policemen."